Fortune cookie leads to big win for Kentucky player

Drawing Date: 10/11/2019

October 14, 2019 - Robert Calfee, of Park City, Ky., stopped by his favorite retailer, Zack’s Express, Sunday morning to check a stack of lottery tickets he’d accumulated. He said most of the tickets scanned “not a winner” until they came across the one he’d purchased for Friday’s Mega Millions drawing.

“They told me I’d won more than they can pay. I thought maybe it was $800 or $6,000. It never dawned on me it was a big one,” Calfee said. They sent him to another store that’s got a bigger cashing limit but was told they couldn’t cash it either. “The clerk went in the back room to pull up the winning numbers, when he came running out, all excited and said, ‘You’ve won a million dollars!’ I thought, ‘Whew, it’s about time’. My heart started beating fast,” Calfee said.

Calfee’s ticket matched the first five white ball numbers to win the game’s second prize from the October 11th drawing. He had picked the numbers himself, from a fortune cookie he’d gotten. “Who would of thought,” he said.

Calfee has lots of plans for the winnings. He has his sights set on a new home and car but also wants to invest some of the winnings. Calfee walked out of lottery headquarters with a check for $710,000, after taxes.

Zack’s Express will receive a bonus of $10,000 for selling the winning ticket.